Traffic Reviews

• Powerful Drama, Important Film

  
  By A1J2931UBBJPXM on 2001-02-25
  To say that this is a film with a message would be an understatement, because it comes across so emphatically clear and succinct, and it is this: To wage a war against drugs, you must first come to terms with the sobering fact that the enemy is often a member of your own family; and how do you wage a war against your own family? A sobering message? Insightful? Indeed. And, when you consider the implications of it all, devastating. Ponder that awhile and you'll begin to get a sense of the futility visited upon those who would attempt to rectify a situation that affects practically everyone everywhere sooner or later, either directly or indirectly; and it is just that situation that is addressed and presented with no-holds-barred by director Steven Soderbergh in his brilliant, hard hitting film, "Traffic," starring Michael Douglas and Benicio Del Toro. The film examines the trafficking of drugs between Mexico and the United States, and the long-ranging effects thereof; and Soderbergh tells the story through a number of perspectives, which effectively presents the "big picture" of the drug trade and the subsequent impact it all has on the lives of so many people.

  Probably the most telling perspective in terms of futility is that which is shown through the eyes of Robert Wakefield (Michael Douglas), a judge who is appointed the country's "Drug Czar," and given the task of "making a difference." It's a pivotal character inasmuch as it is through his involvement that so much information is presented, not all of which is anything new, but when taken within the context of the story has a tremendous emotional impact. Through Wakefield, not only is the unbelievably far-reaching problem of illegal drugs illuminated, but the attitudes of all of those it touches on all levels, from the heads of the Mexican cartels to the kids who use and abuse the product made so readily available to them by the drug lords.

  A man of principle and high ideals, Wakefield begins by educating and familiarizing himself with all facets of the drug trade. He quickly learns that although he is far from naive in terms of the reality of what he is dealing with, he actually has no concept of the depth and scope of it, like how much better equipped and financed the cartels are than the U.S. Government, for instance. Another troubling aspect of the story involving Wakefield is the lack of respect accorded him by the young people with whom he comes into contact, not only in his official position, but simply as a human being-- especially by his own sixteen-year-old daughter and her "friends." Unfortunately, it realistically reflects an attitude prevalent within a wide faction of our society today; and it's one of the strengths of the film that it can so succinctly capture something so distressing, something that should be of monumental concern to everyone, for it's an integral part of a larger something that touches us all. Also realistically portrayed is Wakefield's reaction to all of this; the helplessness born of the limited ways of combating what he encounters is extremely well realized and conveyed by the film, and it enhances even more that already overpowering sense of futility.

  From the Mexican side of the border, the story unfolds through the perspective of Javier Rodriguez Rodriguez (Benicio Del Toro), a veteran of the Mexican Highway Patrol; and it's from his side of the fence that we begin to understand the ramifications of the politics, money and power, and ruthlessness that so empowers the cartels. In these segments, the dialogue is in Spanish (with English subtitles), and Soderbergh uses a tint to the film that lends a visual sense of detachment to the action; it's almost like watching an old newsreel, which gives it an air of authenticity that works because it's incorporated with the emotional substance that ultimately provides the real impact.

  The superlative cast Soderbergh assembled for this film includes Don Cheadle, Luis Guzman, Dennis Quaid, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Steven Bauer, Jacob Vargas, Erika Christensen, Miguel Ferrer, Amy Irving, Tomas Milian and James Brolin. An important film of gut-wrenching implications and staggering emotional proportions, "Traffic" evokes a sense of futility and loss (especially in the final scenes) that is, at times, overwhelming. It makes you realize just how huge the drug trafficking trade is, and how any efforts to eliminate or even contain it simply pale in the light of it's enormity. It's like a terminal cancer, spreading and eating away at the fabric of our society; a disease that reduces the value of human life to the barest minimum. It's a movie that will affect everyone on a different level emotionally, depending somewhat upon personal experience and frame of reference, but there is no doubt that this is a film that will create a lasting impression on anyone who sees it; but be prepared, for this is powerful drama that elicits a sense of hopelessness which-- I'm sure for many-- may hit just a bit too close to home for comfort.
  
  

• A Flawless Film

  
  By ABLWGDPUOSEXR on 2001-01-30
  "For a kid my age, it's a lot easier to get drugs than alcohol." One of the most poignant and powerful lines in a movie in recent years belongs to a young teenager in Traffic. This quote addresses the very hopelessness of the drug problem between the U.S. and Mexico, which is ingeniously illustrated in Steven Soderberg's real-life epic. This film beautifully demonstrates the aforementioned problem from four different points of view. There's the U.S. high-office officials, in charge of drug policy represented by Michael Douglass and his family, the U.S. middle-class law enforcement (Luis Miguel, Don Chedle), the Mexican law enforcement (Benecio Del Toro) and the rich top-of-the-drug-chain suburbanites (Catherine Zeta Jones). Each segment is filmed in it's own different style; the scenes in Mexico all have a dirty, yellow, grainy look to imply Mexico as the bottom rung of the drug ladder, while the scenes filmed in Washington D.C. have a cool, steel-blue tint, possibly to suggest a sterile, drug-free environment. The film is meticulously assembled to convey just how hopeless the drug situation is, and that no matter how much money we spend, or how many policies we adopt, there will always be illegal drug running. The acting is astonishing, as every performance is nailed to perfection. The film is technically effective, as most of the scenes were filmed with a hand-held camera by Soderberg himself, giving the film a semi-documentary feel. This film is a perfect illustration of the problems faced by the U.S. and Mexico in regards to the illegal drug trade, and how bleak the future looks for getting the problem resolved. However, by the end, the movie also illustrates that at least some of the battles can be won, if not the war.
  
  

• Traffic- the Modern L.A. Confidential...?

  
  By A35JE1NQ0HL8RQ on 2001-01-13
  This is a brilliant film, with a great cast, and an excellent story. But seeing as I had just watched L.A. Confidential the day before I went to see Traffic, I found that there were quite a few similarities between the two movies.

  For starter's each movie focuses on three main storylines(that all tie into one story)with other sub-plots around them- Traffic has Javier Rodriguez(Benicio Del Toro) fighting the Mexican drug war. Robert Wakefield(Michael Douglas as the Government drug czar fighting a battle he can't win.A And then you have Montel Gordon(Don Cheadle) and Ray Castro(Luis Guzman) as DEA partners who track down a drug trafficker, Eduardo Ruiz(Miguel Ferrer) and then have to protect him when he is to go in front of a court against Carlos Ayala(Steven Bauer) And these three main storylines spring open sub-plots- The case of Wakefield's daughter, Caroline(Erika Christensen- a brilliant find) being addicted to drugs, Carlos' wife, Helena(Catherine Zeta Jones), etc.

  L.A. Confidential has the case of the three cops- Ed Exley(Guy Pearce), Bud White(Russell Crowe), and Jack Vincennes(Kevin Spacey), totally separate characters that have to come together.

  Both have brilliant music scores

  And hopefully, TRAFFIC will also get a Best Supporting Actor for Benicio's role(and maybe adapted screenplay?), just like Kim Basinger won her Oscar and Director Hanson and Brian Helgeland's screenplay won an Oscar

  Half of the film is in Spanish- subtitles are provided, so don't worry! I think this gives the film a really good feel and nice flavor to it. It just wouldn't have sounded the same if all the Mexican parts were spoken in English.

  And all this is directed by Steven Soderbergh. And the cinematography is just beautiful.
  
  

• One of the best films of the year

  
  By A2Z6CQYHQDKEQA on 2001-02-04
  There's a scene early in Traffic in which a group of preppy teenagers basically ramble on about nothing and snort cocaine. It's a fascinating, disturbingly gritty, and brutally realistic scene, but it also makes you think about why kids take drugs to begin with. Kids don't shove sticks of marijuana into other kids' mouths and make them take it at gunpoint, like many people think. No, this scene suggests that it's much more casual than that. All these kids, in their isolation and boredom, are connected, and drugs seem to further that connection. These are the kinds of things you think about throughout, and long after, Traffic, Steven Soderburgh's brilliant, gripping, thought-provoking new film that grapples with the drug war. It tells three separate stories (which, since I have limited space, I'm not going to go into; they're posted on the offcial review), and Soderburgh's, working from Stephen Gaughen's taut, brainy, wonderful adaptation of the Brtish miniseries Trffik (which was over six hours long), directs brilliantly. He uses different hues and colors for his different stories (ice blue for Ohio and D.C., sandy yellow for Mexico, etc.), and while it takes a few minutes to adjust to his style (colors, jump cuts, etc.), it ultimately proves to set a magnificent mood and tone for the film. He keeps the two and a half hour film fascinating (compared to the hour and a half Head Over Heels, the time flies), and he juggles his three stories superbly, each of them fascinating as they slowly intertwine. And Soderburgh lets a outstanding cast shine. Douglas, in his second great performance of the year, shines as Robert Wakefield, Erica Krisstensian (sp?), in a brave perforamnce, pulls no punches as Douglas's druggie daughter. Catherine Zeta Jones is a revelation. She is at first tender and vulnerable, slowly becoming a shrewd, ruthless businessman, in a wonderful transformation. Don Cheadle, Luz Guzman, etc.; all outstanding. And Benicio Del Toro, wearing sags under his tired eyes like badges of survival, gives a quietly powerful, deeply haunting performance. But ultimately, this is Soderburgh's film, and he asks many tough questions and tells us a bleak truth: that as long as drugs are woven into the fabric of Americana, as long as there's corruption and greed, as long as there's supply and demand, the drug war can't be won. Yet Soderburgh also implies that the only way to beat drugs is personally, one addict at a time. It's this little ray of sunlight amidst the storm that gives Traffic heart as well as brains, and makes it one of the best pictures of the year. A
  
  

• Laughably Overrated

  
  By AA9YB2KY0SOD7 on 2001-11-29
  Soderbergh is without doubt the most laughably overhyped director in the business right now. "Traffic" tells us absolutely nothing about the "war on drugs" that an intelligent, informed person didn't already know. Furthermore, Soderbergh's acclaimed filmmaking techniques are all essentially "borrowed" from other directors who have used the same techniques to much better effect. At it's core, "Traffic" is a completely hollow, completely commercial Hollywood-style movie which the director and studio designed to win the superlatives of the adoring critics and the Oscars committee. There's nothing artistic or creative about any of Soderbergh's work, except maybe in the most shallow sense. The cast of the upcoming "Oceans 11" gives his game away anyway: Julia Roberts, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, etc., etc.. Soderbergh's game is the same as Hollywood's - to rake in the cash. This kind of moviemaking isn't art; this is commerce and marketing, pure and simple. Hand over the cash.
  
  
• An "R" rated after-school special
  By A1GHWSZA2VCLDN on 2001-02-06
  This has got to be the most heavy-handed, patronizing film of all time. The performances of all the teenagers (especially the one who played the daughter) were cheesy and laughable. I was surrounded by snickers when I saw this in the theatre.

  Even more ridiculous is just how much people go on about the "realistic" portrayal of the drug problem. Realistic? Douglas just happens to become nation's drug czar at the same time that his daughter becomes a drug-obsessed, skid row prostitute--while maintaining "all A's" at her exclusive prep school. When her husband gets thrown in the can, Zeta-Jones transforms overnight from happy housewife to sangfroid assassin and drug queen. I'm sure we can all relate.

  If it weren't for that enlightening Orrin Hatch cameo, this would've been just another one-star wonder.
  
  

• The Wool Over Our Eyes
  By A2EY6961HFXC7Y on 2001-07-25
  Who pulled the wool over our eyes? As a people, we have been bamboozled, we have been hornswaggled, into believing in a horrible fallacy, a lie so big even the Nazis would quake in awe. I'm not talking about our electoral process. I'm not talking about the constant misinterpretation of the Second Amendment, or the belief that whites are somehow superior to all other races. But who in the hell told us that "Traffic" was a good movie? So what do we have here, we have like eighteen different intertwining stories that all mesh into a web of cocaine-encrusted celluloid. For starters, we've got Michael Douglas as Bob Wakefield, the brand-new head of the United States Drug Prevention Initiative Policy Blah Blah Blah. Hole Number One. No head of drug prevention in these United States would be as absolutely clueless as Judge Wakefield. Oh yeah, he's a judge! The guy has no idea how drug trafficking works, doesn't know any of the statistics or the ins and outs of the drug trade in America, and he's the most qualified for the job? Forget it. Okay. So his daughter is on crack. Did I mention that? His daughter is a bonafide crack addict. No pot, barely any booze, straight to the premium: snorting and freebasing. Meanwhile, her father serves as the audience proxy, an earpiece for all of screenwriter Stephen Gaghan's impressive research. So eventually his daughter runs away from her drug retreat and begins sleeping with her crack dealer for free rock, realizing a rich father's worst nightmare: his daughter is sleeping with a black man. All right, enough plot summary. That's for movie reviews, and this ain't a movie review, it's a venting session. Is there anyone reading right now who doesn't think that the War on Drugs only fuels the drug trade in the country, and that it's probably a front for a massive government importing conspiracy? No? Anyone? No? Good. Then don't see the movie. Because that's all they say for two and a half hours. I felt like my brain was going to explode. I haven't hated a movie this much since I saw "Magnolia" and almost chewed out my medulla oblongata. The only real bright spots in the movie came from Don Cheadle and Luis Guzmán, FBI drug investigators who also happen to be great actors. The usually wonderful Michael Douglas comes off as preachy and naïve, while the usually stellar Benicio del Toro - Academy Award winner for Best Supporting Actor for this role, by the way - never changes his facial expression and is just barely vindicated in one of the most saccharine-sweet, manipulative movie endings since "Free Willy." Don't get me started on wunderkind-of-the-year Steven Soderbergh's directing mishaps. Nearly half of the movie was shot on a hand-held camera, producing a theatre-wide seasickness not rivaled since "The Blair Witch Project" and not done half as well. The rest of the movie consisted of artsy trick angles - including an upside-down shot of Douglas's helicopter that made no sense - bright-light shots reminiscent of "Heathers," and shots of nature having nothing to do with the rest of the film. The only bright spot in Soderbergh's messy montage of mediocre vignettes was the section of the movie dealing with the cartel wars in Tijuana. The slightly-off style of shooting, the yellowed color of the film, and the impersonality of the shots made you realize that this was a completely different world. For the most part, however, someone should tell Steven Soderbergh that he shouldn't try to be Oliver Stone. Oliver Stone tried that, and we got "Any Given Sunday." So watch out. Anyway, I've never felt so gypped as I did coming out of that movie. Let me set the record straight: "Traffic" sucks. Go spend your money on "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," or see a NASCAR race, or BEAT YOUR HEAD AGAINST A WALL but do NOT see this movie. Unless you already have. In which case, may God have sweet mercy on your soul.
  
  
• A Movie that Tops the Rest
  By A3G515RA5ZXR3B on 2001-01-15
  Traffic gives us a very disturbing yet equally true story about what happens to real people in the fight for war on drugs. Traffic tells three stories. About two DEA agents, Don Chealde and Luis Guzman, that are out to stop the "Big Rich Guys" at the to of the food chain. Two Mexican Police Officers that happen upon a large shipment of illegal drugs, Benicio Del Torro. And a newly appointed government official, Michael Douglas, that is there to clean up what his predecessor couldn't do. WIth that said, we are left to director Steven Soderbergh. With his brilliant usage of color and contrast. And his equally astounding talent of editing and shooting this home videoesque film. I was dumbfounded by the sheer tenactiy of the story. So gritty and captivating. It really tells people what they don't want to hear. With such a fabulous cast as this: Michael Douglas, Benicio Del Torro (who should recieve an oscar nomination), Don Chealde, Catherine Zeta Jones, Dennis Quaid, Selma Hyaek, Benjamin Bratt, and Luis Guzman, you can't make a bad movie. So, take my advice and watch this film. It's really that good.
  
  
• Believe it or not
  By A1X7Z57YMYGUU6 on 2001-08-03
  Traffic proves conclusively that the "the war on drugs" is alive and well and playing at a theater near you. This stunning artistic achievement has been endorsed by members of the US senate, the motion picture academy and the nation's movie critics. What more validating acclaim do you need to see this film over and over, and believe everything that it puts forth? Well, I'll give you some more reasons to believe: 10) Candy colors help the medicine go down. 9) Being part of the La Jolla gentry and being a ruthless drug baron go hand in hand. 8) The ends justify the means. 7) If we would just listen to our children they would never even think about smoking crack. 6) Mexico is more corrupt than the US. 5) Drug czars, Hollywood filmmakers and DEA agents are motivated by the noblest of intentions. 4) People from the ghetto really are responsible for corrupting innocent rich white girls. 3) The use of different types of film stocks, hand held camerawork, the narrative "jigsaw" technique and political cameos mean great art (but only when respectable directors do it in the service of a higher cause). 2) No one in this film ever suggested that the US army start spraying paraquat on tobacco fields in North Carolina or start bombing distilleries in Kentucky. 1) Catherine Zeta-Jones really can act her way out of a wet paper bag.
  
  
• Soderbergh Strikes Again
  By A2VGQYGKYWBTSD on 2000-12-07
  I guess I'm a late bloomer Soderbergh fan because Out of Sight was the first film of his that I saw, but the way it was put together was hot to me and so I was really excited to see Traffic. A buddy of mine is friends with someone at USA and got us into a preview screening last week, the movie is awesome. Soderbergh is a clever guy and the way each of the story lines are put together with a different look and feel is pretty cool. The other thing is the stellar performances that this guy gets out of his cast. Benicio Del Toro was amazing, it was nice to see Catherine Zeta Jones playing a hard ass, there's a bunch of cameo's, but standouts to me are the duo of Luis Guzman and Don Cheadle. These guys are very funny as DEA agents staking out Zeta Jones and they will get the recognition they deserve as actors after this film. Did I mention Benicio Del Toro, his performance is oscar caliber and hopefully he gets his this time. So, enough blabber, cool film. Nice to see big dollar pictures made that aren't all gloss and smiles.
  
  
• Shocking because it's just another movie about cops & drugs
  By on 2001-02-02
  Easily the most overrated film of this year, TRAFFIC is just another movie with a made-for-tv plot. Obviously, there's a bunch of people who think they're really "liberal" for liking this film, but the movie doesn't go far enough. Soderbergh, a hack who was simply hired to direct the film, has no ideas on drug politics and hence his silence on such issues. To add further insult, he even allowed the Drug Enforcement Agency to re-write certain scenes in order to gain access to certain locations on which he filmed.

  What more, the film doesn't address the fact that the war on drugs is really a war against poor people. The effects that drugs have had on Black and Latino communities are ignored while the film shows us that it only becomes an issue when it affects the White suburban kids. The films weakest part involves Michael Douglas (the biggest hypocrite who was doing plenty of coke with Nicholson back in the glory days when he could get away with cheating on wife) and his daughter who becomes addicted to heroin. In addition, it wants us to believe that marijuana leads to harder drug abuse. This is the type of thing (Reefer Madness anyone?) that has been dismissed for a few decades now.

  Legalization? Not even discussed in the film. To add to the films dubious nature, there are several cameos from politicians. Do we need politicians trying to play movie star? Let's vote these creeps out of office if there going to be hypocrites about the drug issue.

  Just because the film may touch on a few truths, in the end it's an extrememly conservative film. All the bad guys are Mexicans, all the good (or morally disturbed) characters are the Americans and the rich should look out for themselves while we leave it to the minorities to fight it out amongst themselves. That's the film in a nutshell. Don't let the media fool you.

  I didn't even get to the fact that the film is logically incoherent...

  or to the bad acting of Catherine Zeta-Jones...

  boy, is this one bad movie.
  
  

• An overblown after-school special
  By A1FG3A3V5IAEG9 on 2001-02-16
  As someone said while I was walking out of the theatre, "That was just an after school special." Traffic had all the makings of a great movie, stellar cast, masterful director, and what seemed to be a coherent script. Ah, as with most successful failures, the script was the main failing. The story follows 4 storylines, and Soderbergh pulls an Altman, and coherently intertwines them, a mammoth task to say the least. The first story follows the newly appointed drug czar played by Michael Douglas. His daughter played brilliantly by Erika Christensen, is smoking crack cocaine with her friends. Supposedly this plotline is to be ironic, no, it's extremely heavy-handed, with no reason given for her drug habit, she is just a plot device. Peer pressure may be a reason for alcohol, but she is smoking crack, she has to have problems. The second plotline involves a mexican drug officer played absolutely flawlessly by Benicio Del Toro, no words can completely describe his performance. This story is by far, the most compelling and coincidently, involves no heavy-handed tactics on the part of soderbergh or the the writer to get an emotional response from the audience. The third plotline involves Don Cheadle and Luis Guzman and their attempts to bring down a local drug dealer. Their performances are great also, they play off each other, with often funny results. This story gets the least time. The last plotline involves Catherine Zeta-Jones. This is by far the worst story of the lot. Catherine never could act, and giving her a role like this, is playing with fire. And soderbergh got burned and burned badly. When her drug dealer husband is arrested, she must pay back a cartel back a lot of money. The sheer speed with which she becomes a ruthless adversary is completely preposterous. She is ordering assassinations, and arguing with the leaders of high-powered cartels, literally within days of her husbands arrest. This is completely ridiculous, she would be completely out of her league. I don't care how tough you are, I don't think anything can prepare anybody to deal with drug cartels head on. The multiple emotional layers of the character are never shown either, because, as I stated earlier, Catherine is without talent. This movie was doomed from the beginning, Hollywood remaking a documentary into a movie, is just wrong. They were obviously going to put some schmaltz in there, when the material doesn't support it at all. The little coincidental meetings and when they pass in the street is just stupid too. It isn't needed, and just distracts. The performances will uniformly excellent, except for Catherine and the direction was impeccable. But of course the script turns this into an after-school special with a bigger budget. It violates the most basic rule of movie storytelling, show don't tell.
  
  
• One of the greatest performances of all-time
  By A298S295FGZ4Z5 on 2001-03-07
  This film is not only a masterpiece, but it also contains one of the finest performances ever captured on film, and that is by Benicio Del Toro. His portrayal of a Mexican cop torn by loyalties is absolutely flawless. He and Soderbergh cut down his dialogue to a minimum in order to bring out his facial acting ability, and the variety of emotions that Del Toro conveys in just a simple look prove that he is a master at his craft. When I saw this film, I was reminded of another flawless supporting performance by Robert De Niro in The Godfather Part 2. Del Toro's performance equals if not bests De Niro's, which I consider another of the finest film performances. Benicio Del Toro makes it look effortless, which makes him one of the great ones.
  
  
• An Admirable Effort that Greatly Overreaches
  By A2EENLV6OQ3DYM on 2001-06-11
  "Traffic" is controversial because it seems to suggest that the war on drugs has been lost and ought to be given up. However, whether you agree with that position or not, you'll be distracted by the fact that the message is not conveyed all that well. Though well acted and with camera work that immediately captures the attention, "Traffic" ultimately encounters heavy congestion in trying to get where it wants to go.

  The film is an ensemble picture broken essentially into three parts. The first follows an honest Mexican policeman and his partner as they become involved with a shady Mexican general who has taken sides in a drug feud for both fun and profit. This is the best of the three stories, though its ending seems a little too pat. The second story involves the wife of a "respectable" drug smuggler and her travails after her husband's arrest. This episode plays like your average episode of "Law and Order" and is as about as predictable. The third story follows newly appointed drug czar Michael Douglas and his addicted daughter. This episode rings phony and implausible in a number of ways. Douglas's daughter goes from being casual weekend user to selling her body in a crack house in just a manner of weeks. Then a few weeks later she's already spilling her guts at an "AA" Meeting. This portrayal is so cliche as to almost be demeaning to what real recovering addicts go through.

  Overall, "Traffic" is an overambitious failure. I happen to agree with its message, but I thought the message was very much garbled in the translation. In no way did it deserve a "Best Picture" nomination.
  
  

• Very, very, very overrated....
  By ANRMW496SJXE1 on 2001-02-16
  Not without it's moments, but this is essentially one decent movie starring Benicio Del Toro and two made for TV movies. And the tag line for one of the TV movies could be "The Nominee for Drug Czar of the US says, "This time it's personal....." *Spoiler* I mean, this is a film where Michael Douglas' character actually goes out to take on the drug dealers who have stolen his little girl. C'mon now. I have asked many of my friends who call this a "great," film to point out one situation where they truly felt empathy for what a particular character was going through and nobody can come up with much of anything. Catherine Zeta Jones and Dennis Quaid are just plain awful in this film and when her son is being threatened with having his throat cut you can't see that it's much more of an inconvenience than if she had been threatened with having her milk delivery suspended. This poor girl is just not much of an actress. I loved the Boogie Nights guys, but even a good actor like Don Cheadle can't let you know how he feels about his partner being killed in this disjointed script. I never felt a thing for Michael Douglas and what he was going through with his daughter. Joan Allen came the closest to making something happen, but then you never get the idea that her character means anything to Douglas' either. To sum up, I appreciate what Soderberg is trying to do here and if Traffic were what it began as (say, a three part series on TV,) I would find it worth watching, but this is not Academy Award material, or even a particularly good movie all in all. It's a shame that movies like Billy Elliot and You Can Count on Me were left out of the picture to make room for movies like this (and Gladiator.....oh boy.)
  
  
• Over Rated!
  By A262IS29158PQP on 2001-02-17
  I just came from the cinema where I saw "Traffic" and I can honestly say it was the most un-entertaining film I have ever seen. It really, and truly is boring. "Traffic" tackles the issue of drug abuse by teens, international drug cartels, and drugs in upper class neighbourhoods in an unorganized manner. Uninteresting characters are played by uninteresting actors, the scenery is the same for the most part, and the entire film has a very noticable void; originality. This is just your standard 'drug dealers playing with the cops' movie. Nothing special about this one. The camera is always shaky, as if it was a camcorder you would buy at Walmart to shoot movies in your back yard, which adds to the lack of charm this movie had. During the scenes in Mexico, Spanish is spoken. That translates to about 3/4 of the entire movie, where the speech is delivered in Spanish. I didn't pay ... to read subtitles of mindless conversation for two hours. The bottom line is that the plot never takes off, the characters fail to develop, and the audience is left asking themselves where they parked the car. This is easily the worst film I have ever seen.
  
  
• OVER DOSE PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  By A1QG8N7X3ZPD03 on 2001-06-07
  I rented this movie this past weekend. I heard that some people liked it and others did not, so i wanted to form my own opinion. My opinion is that this movie was a utter disgrace to film making. It was awful, not entertaining, and boring. I wanted to turn the dvd off but my girlfriend kept saying "Maybe it will get better." Well just for curiousity I fast forwarded through the rest of the 40000 chapters. Lets give a synopsis of all the chapters. "OH LOOK WE ARE TALKING" "WE ARE WALKING" "OOPS WE ARE DOING DRUGs" "OH NO MY DAUGHTER IS A DRUG CRAVING WOMAN" "OOPS WALKING AGAIN" "IM MAD" "ISNT MEXICO WONDERFUL" there is the entire movie, so thank me cause i have saved you the 20 bucks to buy this movie
  
  
• Traffic Is A Winner
  By A1GN8UJIZLCA59 on 2001-06-14
  Steven Soderbergh has crafted a visually stunning, deeply moving and intensely brilliant movie in Traffic. The central focus of the film is the drug epidemic in the US and Mexico. He tells three separate stories that are each distinct unto themselves, yet interwoven into a common thread. One story takes place in Mexico and revolves around a cop with a conscious (Benecio Del Toro), the second story takes place in Ohio and Washington and involves the country's new drug czar (Michael Douglas) and the troubles he faces on the job and with his daughter (Ericka Christiansen) who freebases cocaine and descends into a drug addicted hell and the third story takes place in San Diego and involves DEA agents (Don Cheadle & Luis Guzman) trying to take down a big drug trafficker (Stephen Bauer) whose wife (Catherine Zeta-Jones) learns the drug trade while he's detained. The film sounds unwielding, but Mr. Soderbergh deftly maneuvers from story to story and you find yourself engrossed in the lives of these characters. Each story is shot in a different style with the Mexico scenes being bright but grainy, the Ohio & Washington scenes in a moody indigo and the San Diego scenes in a sunny, vivid illumination. The cast is full of amazing performances with Mr. Del Toro standing out as the Mexican cop. Most of his dialogue is in Spanish, but it is his expressions that speak volumes. When the camera focuses in on his face, he conveys a sense of a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders. Mr. Del Toro won a well deserved Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 2000. Miguel Ferrer is superb as a key witness in the San Diego case who bristles at the DEA agents and offers a chilling description of the drug situation in the country. Mr. Cheadle is fiery as a DEA agent and Mr. Douglas perfectly portrays a man who is trying fight a national war on drugs but is losing a battle at home. Ms. Christiansen is amazing and her descent into complete addiction is frightenly real. The cast is expansive and includes such stars as Albert Finney, Dennis Quaid, Benjamin Bratt, Selma Hayek and Topher Grace in addition to the others. Mr. Soderbergh had a great 2000 with Traffic and Erin Brockovich and he became the first director in sixty years to be nominated for two movies in the same year and he won the Best Director award for this film.
  
  
• Soderburgh is amazing....
  By AP1ASEJYOTL7 on 2001-06-21
  This is not an action film. Stallone does not blow up any buildings and Keanu Reeves does not do kung fu (thank god!)....This is an astounding film representing the drug world as it is in the present day. A docu-drama, with amazing performances by all (especially the award winning Benicio del Toro) and brilliantly directed and mostly hand-shot by Soderburgh himself, the film deserved every award and bit of acclaim it got and more!! For anyone so easily distracted by a "mind-boggling" 3 storylines, 3 different tints to the screen, and anything shiny, or who's just lookin for a movie with a perfect ending, this is not your film. Traffic brings up many interesting points about how we are dealing with the drug war, and how everyone is so easily affected. Some bash Traffic for not having a clear answer, and too much irony: Well, there is no clear answer to the drug war, watch the film and you can see that. Listen while the arrested drug-smuggler explains how things are operated, and listen as the teenagers explain how drugs are easier to get than alcohol these days. Its true, and if it makes you re-evaluate the world around you, then good, Traffic has made a start. This is not your average movie, cast or storyline. It stands above the rest of the fast-paced, no-thought-required films of our time, and shouldn't be so easily overlooked because its not directed by Bruckheimer.
  
  
• This is your brain on drugs commercial
  By on 2001-12-24
  Could be one of the worst movies I have ever seen. After paying to see this movie, I felt ripped off. This experience is like watching a 2 hour commercial. The movie left me feeling insulted and very disappointed. I have yet to meet anyone that saw this that actually liked it. Don't assume it is good just because of the hype and the actors.
  
  
• Could have been great...
  By A3VPG30YO5P2Y2 on 2001-03-19
  The underlying plot(s)/theme for this movie could have ended up with a very good movie. The acting was great, don't get me wrong, but there were several things wrong with it that would make me give it a negative recommendation. First off, literally everyone that I've asked about this movie generally didn't like it. Ranging from "it was *ok*" to "I felt like I was going to throw up afterwards for wasting my time". To me, the movie was slowly paced, predictable, and had no memorable soundtrack, which made for a very boring experience, it's just not a good sign when you start looking at your watch 30 minutes to an hour into the movie. Not to mention that there were three concurrent stories being told, and you never really got the sense that either of them had anything to do with the other. Two of the "stories" did intertwine somewhat, but you still never really got the sense that they should be in the same movie together...

  The makers obviously did something right, judging by the response from a lot of people, but they obviously did something wrong as well, when you have a lot of people who sat through the movie just wondering when it will finally be over...

  I don't know, this was a really "love it or hate it" kind of a movie, so if you haven't seen it, and aren't sure you are going to like it, I'd pool some money with friends and rent it when it comes out, that way, if you like it, you've only spent a buck (or less) to see it, and then you can spend your money on the DVD, but if you happen to not like it, you're only out a dollar (plus a couple of hours).
  
  

• Utterly out-of-touch with reality
  By A2KQW60B7BBMNA on 2001-08-24
  I guess in my last review of this film, I revealed too much, or I made too many spiteful comments because it never got posted. I can't describe how awful this film was, at least not adequately in a way that Amazon will post. This film has some serious flaws that I find so amazinly obvious and utterly ridiculous that I have a hard time believing anyone would like it. I think it gets by solely on "Star Power", because it is the weakest attempt at serious filmmaking I have ever had the disprivelege to witness. All sense of reality was swept aside in favor of knee-jerk sensationalism. If so many people think this movie is about the "real" war on drugs, America is in serious trouble. I'm pretty sure the only people who think this film has anything to do with reality have never been to or known anything about the ghetto and street life. Middle-class Americans who claim this film is all about "reality" are only allowing themselves to be fooled even further. THE EVENTS THAT TAKE PLACE IN THIS FILM COULD NEVER HAPPEN IN REALITY. It is a twisted, sensationalistic fantasy, one where cops are morons, the "Druz Czar" is a pathetic looser who couldn't run a one-man charity, rich white prep-school kids are "street smart" and the entire Justice System if the United States is so woefully inadequate that it can't bring to justice a drug lord who has been practically gift-wrapped. I can't believe anyone could overlook these serious flaws, to the point that I'm worried about our society and how it intends to deal with a serious problem.
  
  
• overhyped , overbloated , boring , dribble
  By A337K4BQEJFF7M on 2001-12-24
  Why? Why? Why? was this movie considered a great accomplishment and an in depth study on the war on drugs. This movie was nothing more than boring , and long , and I found myself dozing off here and there during it. The only interesting story was Douglas and his daughter , the mexican cop , and the druglord's wife were boring and a waste of film. If the movie was about the czar and his daughter it may have earned at least 3 stars , and whats worse it'll switch characters to characters like about every minute , so you can't keep up with it. A 3 hr waste of time even though it had one of the coolest lines when the actor from That 70's Show and the czar's daughter are on the bed smoking heroin. Whats even more disgusting this film won an Oscar. It's trash like this that try to be groundbreaking and prove a point of some kind , but does nothing more than suck 3 hrs out of your life. Nauseating dribble
  
  
• You either love it or loathe it
  By A1UCUF1ZF8Z4QE on 2002-03-15
  One of the few movies I ever walked out on (I eventually sat through it on the insistence of trusted friends), this film is somewhat polarizing. I found it to be trite, vapid, predictable, and nausiating with its jerky let's-cash-in-on-the-indy-craze handheld camerawork.

  If you loved this movie, I am happy for you that the greatest people producing DVDs is making it for you. But PLEASE rent it first or you may be one of the 10-20% of viewers who felt like they had just seen the wrong movie.

  (If it helps, my judgement is that THE LIMEY is the only good film Soderberg has made, and I would give it about 3-1/2 stars).
  
  

• boring, breaks no new ground
  By on 2002-03-21
  Why are people so impressed with this? It could have been a movie of the week on NBC. "Haunted" by the characters? I don't think so. Thank goodness for fast foward. Script is nothing new or provacative. People apparently don't know what a good film is.
  
  
• was this movie about drugs?
  By on 2002-05-21
  I really don't know where to start. This really had to be the worst movie made in 2001. I just couldn't understand it. The story, or stories in the film. Who played the bad guys? And what was that stupid speech about blacks always seen by whites as drug addicts, that we should undertstand and feel sorry for them because Hey, that's all they know and do to survie. Wasn't the black guy giving the drugs to the girl and pratically having her as a his sex slave, because she...being stupid and rich and having nothing to do with her time needs her drugs. I couldn't stand her and wished she died in the film. She just made me want to beat some sense into her. This is what happens when we give everything to our kids (meaning allowances of over 100 dollars a week) so they start to get bored and have no sense of what it means to work for money or do with time after school. We really need to teach our kids how to be human beings instead of babying them and worrying about hurting there feeling. Because if we don't then we will see our kids turn into monsters who don't care who they hurt, rob, sale there bodies or do stupid things (like Jackass). If I was Michael Douglas I would have beat some reality into the girl and thrown her out on her butt. And the guy who won the supporting Oscar. NO Mexican speaks that way. The accent was wrong and the way the held a converstation. It was like some ignoramus decided to be a screenwriter. What they should have done was go to Mexico and get a real translator and really done a decent job. I Mexican-American, born In Houston, raised in Houston and I consider myself a U.S. citizen just like anyone born here would, white, black, latino, etc. (But I don't consider myself a Mexican, because I've been to Mexico and they don't like Americanized latinos), and I have relatives in Mexico and they laughed at the accent and the stupid conversation the two latino actors were having. It was stupid. A Puerto-Rican accent?, when the character in the movie was Mexican? Makes no sence. The only character I liked was the Chaterine Zeta-Jones role. She was cool. I guess it was the pregancy thing. A pregnant lady who is desperate, who turns into a female Corleone was cool. That was it. But I hate it and I will hate any movie that is politcally correct. Hollywood should not be afraid to show the ugly side of all races, Black, White, Hispanic, Oreantal, and so on. It is real life and real life affects all races...and that means drugs too affect all races.
  
  
• Soderbergh's best film
  By on 2000-12-02
  This is Steven Soderbergh's best film, a thrilling take on the drug war that exhilarates and provokes by refusing to preach or sentimentalize. Soderbergh employs a stunning visual style giving each of the film's four different story lines a distinct look. This is no more stunt, his camera work becomes another character in the film that underlines the tragedy and devastation. What's really amazing is how the film avoids bombast and pretention, and achieves great subtlety, nuance, emotion, and freshness. The superb ensemble cast is uniformly outstanding, but Benicio Del Toro gives the true breakout performance as a Tijuana-based Mexican state police officer doing his best to navigate his way through the morally compromised world of drug trafficking and law enforcement across the border. This is a must see & one of the most ambitious films to come out of the studio system in years.
  
  
• Moving "Traffic"
  By A35J4XGRWXVZ00 on 2001-04-03
  2000 was a good year for director Steven Soderbergh. First was the entertaining "Erin Brockovich", then the tense, complicated, well-acted "Traffic", which was probably the best movie of last year and which won Soderbergh the Oscar for Best Director. The plot is constructed of five interlinking sets of people: a newly appointed American drug czar and his family, the Mexican drug cartel, two Tiajuana plainclothes men, a couple of U.S. wiretap specialists, and a wealthy San Diego family whose fortune is a little less than legitimate. Michael Douglas is the star, playing the drug czar who discovers that his teenage daughter (Erika Christensen) has been inhaling free base and is hooked. Don Cheadle and Luis Guzman are nicely paired as the eavesdroppers, and Steven Bauer and Catherine Zeta-Jones play the San Diego couple whose lives collapse when an informer names the husband as a leading importer=exporter of illegal drugs. Dennis Quaid,who gets over-the-title billing, is convincing in a small, unsympathetic role as their opportunistic lawyer. Ms Zeta-Jones' character is the most controversial, morphing from suburban mom to Lady Macbeth right before our eyes. But, of course, most of the attention has been focused on Benicio Del Toro as Javier Rodriguez Rodriguez, the Mexican cop whose loyalties are constantly being challenged. He deservedly won the Oscar, though in the wrong category. Because his character both opens and ends the story, and because he has (I think) more screen time than Douglas, he should have been nominated for Best Actor. Some of the movie's plot elements, particularly in the second half, don't work. The informer is obviously poisoned by a breakfast that is brought to him while his police escort is in the room. Why would they allow a stranger to serve food to a heavily-protected state witness? (The informer is played by Miguel Ferrer, the son of Jose Ferrer and Rosemary Clooney.) Also, I didn't believe the drug czar's aborted acceptance speech for a minute, and his daughter's return from the dead was too pat and painless. But the quiet conclusion, with Javier watching a baseball game, was effective, proving that Stephen Gaghan's screenplay (another Oscar) didn't need a bang-up ending to complete a forceful story.
  
  
• Good thing they all get ONE star...
  By A1P703Y7O9WEP1 on 2001-11-20
  This pointless drivel nearly spoiled my whole evening. God only knows how angry I'd have been if I had gone, in my car, to a cinema to watch it, instead of renting it. And if I'd taken someone I liked????... the mind boggled.

  Isn't it obvious to everyone that this kind of stuff won't wash? They were still making movies about the Cold War when that great non-event was long over. Jack Lemmon once appeared in a film about "Hippies". Someone will always bring these things to us I suppose.

  Watching Michael Douglas burn his books like this made me want to do the Nazi salute at him. How can he agree to do such a deeply ignorant film? Is he so short of cash?
  
  

• A good TV movie, but not worth a trip to the theater.
  By ABQPBY4VNK40Y on 2000-12-29
  I admit I had high hopes for this film. After Soderbergh's last three releases (Out of Sight, The Limey and Erin Brokovich) I expected greatness.

  Instead of reliving previous movie magic, I found myself sitting through a well-acted, nicely shot but ultimately unmoving, tired story. Beyond Don Cheadle's superb work (yet again he will be ignored come Oscar time), the acting is merely solid, but not very impressive. The mundane acting fits the movie's dialogue and story - not much in the way of noteworthy. Sure Soderbergh frames his shots nicely and piles on the lighting and exposure tricks to add punch, but in the end it's just a slick, well-made, though antiseptic view of drug trafficking.

  There is no new ground covered. No new characters. Nothing much happens that hasn't happened in dozens of other movies. While one might say Brokovich and The Limey played out in a similar fashion, those movies at least had some soul and texture to juxtapose the cold, removed feel of Traffic. The Limey had the added dazzle of the disjointed narrative and the jump cutting, matched by Stamp's vacant, creepy gait and gaze. Brokovich followed the same David v. Goliath patterns we've seen, but the washed out film and the snappy wit, along with Albert Finney's work put it beyond the average TV-movie-of-the-week feel it should have presented. Traffic on the other hand, came across far too often like a fictionalized 60 minutes episode. Too much of the dialogue was spent explaining the drug trade (or talking down to the audience)and not enough screen time was spent really delving into the lives of the people involved.

  Is Traffic a good movie though? Sure. It's solid, sort of a superbly crafted NBC Miniseries. It's just not on par with Soderbergh's last few works. And light years behind Out of Sight. Rent it.
  
  

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